Dragon Ball Ante Regem
by jjeongjackie
Summary: This is a series of the rise of the Saiyans. It takes place even before Dragon Ball minus. One of the main plot is how a prince becomes the king of the Saiyans, whom DBZ fans know as King Vegeta. The are also characters whom I created who aren't part of the original series my Akira Toriyama.
1. Chapter 1

It has been about forty years since the destruction of Planet Vegeta. The last remaining Saiyans and their families resided in Earth, and there were no more big stories about the once prominent warrior race in the galaxy among people of the faraway galaxy. Even Whis was convinced that only Son Goku and Prince Vegeta were the last remaining pureblooded ones of their kind, and there were to be no troubles caused by Saiyans. However, little did the gods know, there was more of them besides the ones in Earth.

Firstly, there was Tarble, Vegeta's younger brother. And in a planet far away from the Northern Galaxy, which was under King Kai's rule, there lived a Saiyan named Kibbetz. He was the brother-in-law of the King of Saiyans and uncle to Vegeta and Tarble. He was the untold survivor of the explosion of his home planet - he has survived out of luck since he was on a vacation at a distant place during the time Freeza destroyed Planet Vegeta.

When he saw the news that his home planet was destroyed, Kibbetz was lost and shocked for a little while. However, he soon gained calamity and moved on with his life. First thing he did was applying for citizenship in the planet he was vacationing at, Planet Omorfiá. As soon as he was granted a citizen of Omorfiá, he worked as a royal engineer at the palace - all thanks to a long time family friend of the Saiyan royal family introducing him to the king. That family friend was Princess Spathí, who knew King Vegeta since they were both children. While King Vegeta never admitted to having her as a friend while he was alive, the fact that he never attempted to colonize Planet Omorfiá proved that he at least recognized her as an ally. Princess Spathí was more than happy to help out a family of her long-time friend. In fact, she was quite distressed when she found out King Vegeta's death, so seeing Kibbetz unharmed was a great relief.

Kibbetz has lived many decades in peace in his new home, working on so many interesting and quirky projects he could only dream of doing during Freeza's reign. Even though he was a Saiyan, his competitiveness was not found predominantly in combat, but in making new, exciting inventions (but he did enjoy sparing from time to time). Freeza commissioned him to make only laser guns for his army or more ergonomic designs for his personal hover chair - the latter order especially made Kibbetz despise his position as the head engineer at the time. In Omorfiá, he could make a large variety of things from spaceships to storage units for soldiers that can preserve any food items for more than a decade in the freshest state. Overall, Kibbetz was very happy with his life. He didn't think about doing anything outrageous to break his peaceful life, unless it was to do with the design of his invention.

However, one day, his worry-free, peaceful, rose coloured life was to come to an end. It all started he met a certain mysterious woman. This woman, who refused to reveal her identity, came to his office one evening when he was the only person in the design studio. She had a veil on her head that showed not even a tiny bit of her face, and wore a knee-length black robe that was tied around the waist with a red, green, and white sash. When Kibbetz tried to attack her with a ki blast, she said he must not fear her and listen carefully to what she says. She told him everything about the survivors of the Freeza attack: Vegeta, Tarble, Nappa, Raditz, and Kakarot. She said she lives in a planet not too far away from Omorfiá, called Planet Salamina (Arabic for 'Our Peace'), and the grand priest told her personally that herself and Kibbetz must go look for them, because there is a powerful foe out in the galaxy that seeks to exterminate all remaning Saiyans and their previous allies. The allies were people of Planet Salamina and Omorfiá - as well as Earth.

Kibbetz was overwhelmed with dread. He never imagined anyone to come after the Saiyans since Freeza. Freeza's sudden disappearance (he didn't know about his death yet) has lead his army to dissipate quickly, and many people have not had a single attack from the fearsome tyrant's force for a long time. It was hard to imagine who this enemy would be - the Saiyan army killed all the local residents when they invaded a planet. So who survived to remember the terrifying things their people have suffered from the Saiyan warriors and seek revenge?

The woman explained that the grand priest only know that she is a threat, so he must go to Planet Namek and use their special magical objects, the dragon balls, to revive King Vegeta and find out who she might be. Kibbetz asked why him out of everyone. The woman simply replied that the king knew of so many classified things he only shared with the queen, so he would have the most knowledge on possible enemies. Kibbetz grew suspicious of this mystery woman - why does she take so much interest in Saiyans? She didn't seem like one judging on her clothing. Full with skepticism, he confronted her and said if she cares so much about his race, why she isn't going to go to Planet Namek herself to solve the problem immediately. He also asked if she is a Saiyan herself.

The veiled woman hesitated to answer his questions at first, but exclaimed that Planet Salamina was under attack by a group of extremely powerful mercenaries, so she could not leave her own family behind for too long. Thus, she came to Kibbetz to ask for help. Thankfully for her, the great priest was able to see with his holy eyes that there was a Saiyan close from Salamina. She also added that the great priest of Salamina said that King Vegeta is the only one who knows the weakness of this enemy.

Kibbetz finally understood what a dire situation the last people of the remaining Saiyans are in, and accepted her offer. He promised that he would go to Planet Namek as soon as possible. The veiled woman headed for the window as soon as he finished his sentence.

"Wait! You still have not told me if you were a Saiyan yourself." Kibbetz shouted before she could run away.

"Maybe." The woman responded quietly. "I will reveal myself later. Now I must run. I got a message about an hour ago from my husband that the mercenaries have taken over more than half of Planet Salamina. I have already risked my planet's safety to see you. Contact me as you as soon as you have revived King Vegeta. Here is the code to my scouter. Alas."

"Farewell…"

The woman flew away quickly, and Kibbetz stared out of the window as he held onto a piece of paper with her scouter's code written in it. He could not believe what he saw as the woman headed towards the sky. There was a thin, furry brown thing under her black cloak. It looked exactly like the tail he wrapped around his waist.


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Kibbetz packed rations and other necessities for the journey in big carriers. His wife Paionía initially didn't believe his stories and thought he was making up an excuse to go on a solo vacation. However, when he said there was an enemy trying to destroy all of Planet Omorfiá, she decided to trust her husband and gave him consent to look for the remaining Saiyans. Thankfully, Paionía was a thoughtful person who tried to be as understanding as possible.

However, Kibbetz still had to go over one more hurdle - gaining the royal family's permission. At the moment, he was participating on a very intense project as the head interior designer of a spaceship docking station. It was a project King Diamánti had invested quite a big fortune into, so it would be extremely hard for the main designer to take a leave without a precise return date. The royal family could become extremely furious and he could lose all credit he built throughout the past few decades. Although it wouldn't be a pleasant situation to be in if he asks them tête-à-tête, Kibbetz went to the palace to see the king and his boss, Princess Spathí.

Princess Spathí was the youngest child out of the king's four children. She was very active and adventurous unlike her two sisters, Smarágdi and Améthystos, and her brother Zafeiri. She was always willing to take risks if it seemed worthy of investing time and effort into, which was a rare trait among the somewhat conservative Omorfiá people. Also, unlike her two slender and tall sisters, she was short. And, she preferred to wear clothes in bright primary colours or neons to the traditional dainty pastels and neutral coloured garments. She was someone who had great interest and curiosity in the Saiyans while the others were quite afraid of them and only saw them as potential threat. Perhaps her adventurous nature has helped her befriend the royal Saiyan family and prevent them from colonising Planet Omorfiá.

As Kibbetz expected, King Diamánti became furious when he asked to take a leave mid-progress. The king first flushed red like a heated metal rod, and yelled at his face to the point he almost sprayed the room with his saliva. Insults flew out of his mouth from 'irresponsible sod' to 'you are not much better than your insolent savage people.' The last insult made Kibbetz raise his eyebrows, which was motion he did when he was irritated. No matter how gracious the king has been, there was no need to insult his race. Especially when the Saiyans have never confronted the Omorfiá for neglecting their treaty when Freeza invaded Planet Vegeta. They should've sent out their army to ward off Freeza and their men according to the treaty, but King Diamánti have done absolutely nothing. Meanwhile, the Saiyans kept their promises by sending their army when the Omorfiá asked.

The Saiyans and Omorfiá have become allies due to mutual hatred for the Tsufuls' monopoly on resources. A long time ago, the Tsufuls have threatened the Omorfiá race to supply them with precious minerals and natural resources. Because the Omorfiá race was not scientifically advanced at the time, they had no choice but to submit to their tall orders.

However, the Saiyans have suffered much worse - because they were seen as being no better than slaves, they were allowed to occupy only the bad areas of the planet that lacked rich soil, and were much colder than the areas the Tsufuls lived in. The Saiyans were even forced to do dangerous and difficult labour the other race avoided to do. Each year, many young Saiyans either died from starvation or accidents. Unfortunately the Saiyan race originally lived in a mild climate before their home planet exploded, so the below zero temperatures were too much for them to handle.

Despite both races suffering under the Tsufuls, the Omorfiá were never short on food or shelter like the Saiyans were. They lived in cosy furnished houses that were very durable unlike the stone and moss houses the Saiyans lived in. They had enough food for themselves even after shipping the tribute of various fruits, grains, and spices to the Tsufuls. Kibbetz knew the difference of both parties situations well, so the king's comment made him livid.

Kibbetz stood up from his chair and stared down at King Diamánti. The king was shocked to see the engineer behave this way, since he was usually very calm. Princess Spathí also seemed stunned.

"What are you doing? You are speaking to the king. You have boldly asked to leave an important project behind. What gives you the right to behave so insolently before me?" The king said quietly, his face pale with fear.

"And what right do you have to insult my race? 'Your insolent savage people'? I might be from a warrior race unlike your 'civilized' one, but at least my people have followed the treaty unlike yours. We could've avoided Freeza's rule if you have sent out your army. Both you and I know too well that your race's copying abilities could've easily defeated the lizard if used wisely."

"…Hmm. You know it…" The king hung his head low. He didn't expect Kibbetz to know Omorfiá's betrayal. It has been more than 50 years since the treaty was made. Kibbetz was only a young boy at the time. He didn't think the son of a Saiyan shepherd would know so much about politics.

"And if Freeza was defeated, rest of my race would've survived until now. And don't even demonise the Saiyans, sire. There isn't a single race in this world that is completely guilt-free. Omorfiá have colonised many planets since the eradication of the Tsufuls."

"…"

"Thankfully there are more survivors out there besides me. I don't plan on letting them die. Will you let me take my leave, sire?"

"Father, please just let him go. You have enough blood on your hands." Spathí nudged the king's arm.

"Kibbetz…you now have my permission to take a temporary leave. However, you must inform your subordinates and other designers about your absence, and give them a full detailed plan of the interior of the docking station."

"And I will accompany him." Spathí stood up from her seat and put her hand on her father's shoulder.

"You?! You don't even know who this enemy is. It is too risky. Why are you trying to accompany him? It's none of a princess' concern. Let him solve the problem."

"It is our concern. This unidentified enemy is trying to destroy our planet as well."

"Ugh…that's why I should've not signed that treaty…" The king muttered silently so that his daughter and Kibbetz can't hear him. "If only we have never become their allies…"

"So, will you allow me to accompany him?" Spathí asked her father again with a stern look in her eyes. Her look was rather intimidating since she has a cheerful complexion.

"…You have my permission to accompany Kibbetz. Make sure you always respond when I contact you. Do not take off your scouter unless you are sleeping at night."

"Sigh…father, you should worry about yourself more so than me. But thank you for your concern." Spathí was never a fan of the opportunist nature of her father. She truly does love him, but when he was being selfish to his allies, she felt very ashamed of having him as a parent.

Next day, Kibbetz and Spathí boarded a fine spaceship, which was specially designed for the princess by Kibbetz. It was a one of the most luxurious aircraft of the planet, which had accommodations such as a steam showers and saunas. The best thing about it was that while its design was complex, it was easy to manoeuvre even for beginners. The pilot simply needed to tell the spaceship where the destination was, and choose a route out of all the choices the AI informs him or her.

Spathí's maids loaded a bunch of fabrics, gemstones, chains, sewing machines, and other materials necessary for garment making, and her strong male servants stocked up the cargo section with Kibbetz's luggage and several armaments in case of emergency.

"Princess, why do you need so much fabric and a sewing machine? We are going to Planet Namek to revive King Vegeta and find the rest of the Saiyans, not participating in a fashion show." Kibbetz complained as he saw maid after maid coming in with armful of silks and velvets.

"It will take a while to go to Planet Tech-Tech from Namek, where Tarble is at. The mystery woman said he was in Tech-Tech, right?"

"Aye."

"It takes about three days to go there from Namek. It's a good idea to work on my designs. I will also have plenty of time to make many garments when we go to Earth from Tech-Tech. It takes more than a month to get to that faraway place. You said Vegeta and some Saiyan named Kakarot live there, yes?"

"Aye, I did."

"From Namek to Earth, it is about a month long journey. I am the head designer of the atelier; don't forget that. The royal family of some planet recently asked me to make a collection for them; hence I need to use my time wisely. You aren't even going to help me cut the patterns or sew the dresses, so quit complaining about the fabrics." Spathí said with a happy grin on her face.

"Alright then, my lady…"

The ship was fully loaded with both passengers' luggage. Kibbetz turned on the power, and about five minutes later, the ship took off and disappeared into a faint dot in the sky. King Diamánti watched the dot disappear with his arms crossed.

'I sure hope Spathí will be alright...'

The two arrived in Planet Namek after 10 hours since their departure. Their fashionably sleek spaceship with a glossy royal blue coating surprised the Namekians, who were used to seeing earthy colours like green or beige. Spathí and Kibbetz didn't know that they landed near the village and have attracted many people to come near their ship. When they got off, they were 'greeted' by a group of Namek elders and children.

"Are you the village elder?" Spathí asked.

"Yes, I the grand elder of Namek, Moori. Who are you and what do you need?" Moori looked at the two strangers with suspicious eyes. Although they didn't look particularly threatening to, he didn't let his guard down. Who knows if they are like Freeza's ruthless men. There are to be no more ruthless enemies to enter Namek.

"I am Spathí, the youngest princess of Planet Omorfiá. This is our royal engineer Kibbetz. We have come here to ask for a very difficult request. Please hear me."

"What is the request, princess?"

"We have come here to ask for the dragon balls. Do not worry. It's not for evil uses - we need it to save my planet and Kibbetz's people too."

"The dragon balls? What is threatening the security of your home?" Moori started to listen to the pale pink haired woman carefully. He was slowly convinced that she is not an enemy.

"Some mysterious person is trying to destroy every race that has been the Saiyan's ally. My people have been their allies for until the destruction of Planet Vegeta, where the Saiyans lived in. Earth is also the target, which is home to the survivors of Freeza's attack on Planet Vegeta."

The last comment made all the Namekians gasp. They immediately thought of Dende.

"Earth?! That's not good! Dende is under grave danger. He is a Namekian who acts as a guardian of Earth, for your information. Oh dear…Well, princess, unfortunately the dragon ball cannot be used to wish for the enemy's destruction, if that's what you're looking for."

"No, that's not it. I know what dragon balls are, Elder Moori. I have read about them in a book of ancient magic. Our wish is to revive the king of Saiyans."

Moori's face slightly softened but soon went to a slight frown.

"Saiyans…why does that sound so familiar…ah! Son Gohan! Dende said he was a Saiyan! Hmm…but then there is also Vegeta…he isn't so gentle and kind like Gohan."

"You know of Vegeta?! How? When did you meet him?" Kibbetz rushed to Moori and shook his shoulders so hard, the elderly man felt dizzy.

"Ay, please be gentle with me. I am not young and in shape like you are. When he was under Freeza, Vegeta have exterminated an entire Namekian village before, so I know of him. I've only seen him from faraway from time to time during our stay in Earth."

"Sir, he sure was one unforgettable terror. I was a lucky survivor, because I happened to be the only person to be away from home during the time.

After finishing my chores at a field, I saw people screaming and running away from the distance. When the screaming stopped, a stocky man with spiky black hair flew away with a dragon ball. I later learned his identity during our stay in Miss Bulma's house." A young Namek farmer uttered with a scornful look towards Kibbetz. Unlike most of the Namekians who forgave Vegeta, because he helped Son Goku kill Buu, this individual still held a grudge against the Saiyan prince. "You should not revive the leader of Saiyans, Elder Moori. He might provoke something dangerous."

"Yes, Esca, I understand your ire. But didn't you promise that you would forgive the Saiyan prince? After all, he helped Son Goku defeat Majin Buu. Son Goku is also a Saiyan. His son Gohan is too."

"Are you sure Son Goku and his son are Saiyans? Those are not native Saiyan names." Kibbetz said with suspicion. He also thought those were some very odd names.

"Hmm…now that you mentioned it, Vegeta always referred Son Goku as 'Kakarot'. That could be his birth name. Gohan said his father was originally from a plant that's not Earth." A child Namekian said as he crossed his arm, deep in thought, recalling his memories from Earth.

"Well, princess. Looks like the mystery woman's grand priest was correct. The remaining Saiyans are in Earth, minus Tarble." Kibbetz said as he yawned. He was exhausted from not sleeping for about two days straight, packing his luggage and preparing plans and finalised blueprints for the other architects and designers back in Omorfiá.

"Princess Omorfiá and Mr Kibbetz, I can definitely see that you are not here for impure intentions. I will then allow you to use the dragon balls to revive this king you speak of. If this enemy of yours is trying to kill everyone from your home, then it's righteous for us to help you out. And since your foe is seeking to destroy Saiyans allies…I have a feeling Planet Namek isn't safe either. We have been good friends with Son Gohan and his father for a long time. Cargo, please bring out all the dragon balls. And you sir and your majesty please let the dragon balls be a secret between you and us. I don't wish to have anymore trouble with outsiders who want to abuse the magical powers of Namek treasures."

All seven dragon balls have united. As soon as the Namek villagers put them down on the ground, they glowed in a beautiful bright ember colour. Spathí and Kibbetz stared at the marvellous sight. Moori summoned Porunga in his native tongue, and the dragon came out with a sudden flash of extremely bright light. The princess and the royal engineer had to shut their eyes for a while at the blinding brightness. When they finally opened their eyes, they look at the sky, aghast. They have never seen a creature so huge and intimidating. Spathí especially looked shocked, because her mouth was open wide for solid three minutes.

"This…is the, uh, dragon of the dragon balls…?" Kibbetz asked Moori, having a little difficulty forming his sentence.

"Yes. We call him Porunga, which means dream in our native language. May I proceed to ask Porunga to summon the king back to life? What was the king's name?"

"Yes, that would be good. He was King Vegeta" Kibbetz said so instead of Spathí, who usually likes to take charge, because she was still in a state of shock.

"Oh, is he the father of Vegeta? Eh, that doesn't matter." Moori shook his head. "Please summmon the King Vegeta back to life."

"I can, but he will be brought back in the middle of space and die shortly after." Porunga exclaimed in his booming voice. This made Spathí break out of her shock and snap back to reality. "He will be revived in the place he was killed in."

"Ah, then please first send his soul to this spot." Moori pleaded politely.

"That is an easy request." Porunga's red eyes glowed brightly as soon as he finished speaking. "He tells me to wait a little bit. There is something he must discuss with someone before getting revived."

"What? What bloody hell is going on in the afterlife?" Kibbetz complained.

However, the wait wasn't too long. After about five minutes, Porunga boomed, "Your wish has been fulfilled."

"Now, please revive King Vegeta." Moori spoke to the dragon again.

When Porunga's eyes flashed again, a man with spiky black hair clad in white armour appeared in front of the Namekians, Spathí, and Kibbetz. He was the spitting image of Prince Vegeta, but tall and bearded. It was King Vegeta - he looked just like how he appeared like before his final moments. He looked very confused by the situation.

"Vegeta! Spathí rushed to the king and hugged him very tightly and messed his hair, which was something she did to him as a child when she was excited or drunk. The Nameks looked at them with smiles in their faces. 'What harm can he possibly do with such a cheerful friend of his', they thought.

"Spathí…?" The king stared at the princess and didn't bother getting angry at her messing with his hair (which he hates). "Kibbetz…?"

"Yes, it's me brother-in-law. We have revived you using things called dragon balls."

"…Why…?"

"I will explain later. Thank you, Elder Moori. I shan't forget your generosity." Spathí bowed very low to the elderly Namekian. Moori told her to stop, because it was not a proper for a princess to be so humble towards a mere village elder (Spathí argued that he wasn't a 'mere' elder).

Kibbetz and Spathí said formal farewell to the Namekians and guided King Vegeta to the royal blue spaceship. He wasn't sure what do think or say, so he simply followed the two. After the ship departed and the turbulences were gone, Spathí explained to her old friend about the mystery woman's stories and explained that they were now heading to Tarble's home in Planet Tech-Tech. Kibbetz added that the mystery woman's grand priest said King Vegeta was the key to figure out who the surviving Saiyan's enemy was and how to capture it.

"There are too many enemies. I would have to trace back all my memories to figure out even a vague idea of who it could be." King Vegeta said as he sipped some water. "If would help if I had the historical records from Planet Vegeta, but I doubt it survived after the explosion."

"Actually, I have all the documents from Planet Vegeta. My sister, the queen, entrusted me to take charge of them. You can take a look at them from my personal laptop. I have never let anyone even lay a finger on it for the sakes of Saiyan security."

"Romané gave you all of the documents?" King Vegeta raised an eyebrow. "You never told me."

"That's because you were so paranoid at the time! You trusted only my sister! But you were too busy to deal with so much, so Romané gave me the task." Kibbetz shot back at him.

"Don't fight! We met each other after so many decades." Spathí yelled at the two Saiyans.

"Tsk…" The king muttered with disapproval.

"Anyway, those royal documents also include photos of the previous royal families such as your parents King Haketa and Lady Zuki. Hope it helps."

"Does your laptop also have pictures of the three other royal wives and their children? And the Tsufuls?"

"Yes."

"That would help, yes."

"Good! Vegeta, it's nice to have you back. Kibbetz's company isn't as fun as yours." Spathí said with a big grin, hugging him tightly. This made the king a little annoyed.

"Let me go!" He shouted and pushed Spathí away from him.

"Pfft, okay!" The princess giggled happily.


End file.
